4 indicted for passing counterfeit money

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Two men from Belle Vernon, a Charleroi woman and a New York City resident were indicted Tuesday for possessing and passing counterfeit money, and for conspiracy.

According to an affidavit by a U.S. Secret Service agent, the investigation started last month when a state trooper caught Eric Seighman, 31, of Belle Vernon spending a fake $100 bill at a Connellsville grocery store.

Mr. Seighman said he and his friend Barry Robert Younger, Jr., 36, also of Belle Vernon, had long been passing bills at shops from Uniontown to West Mifflin, according to the affidavit.

Mr. Seighman said the bills, obtained from a New York City contact, were tough to detect because they were made in a sophisticated manner and coated with hair product, according to the affidavit. He boasted that he had successfully passed $2,000 in counterfeit currency in July alone.

A confidential informant told the Secret Service that the source of the bills was a New York City man known as “Stackz.”

The Secret Service followed Mr. Younger from a rendezvous with John Viloria, 25, of New York City to a gasoline station, where one of them spent a counterfeit $100 bill, according to the affidavit.

Upon arrest, agents found $14,700 in counterfeit notes on and around Mr. Viloria, according to the affidavit. Agents also arrested Cheryl Leigh Johnson, 36, of Charleroi.

Mary McKeen Houghton is prosecuting the case, which has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon.